Better is a Relative Term
by Serenity LeVasseur
Summary: Emma had done the whole Savior thing. Pretty much everyone had their Happy Ending. Except her. Oh, and Regina. They'd been through a lot together. It was about time things changed for the better. SwanQueen


**I don't own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters.**

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It had been such a slow day at the Sheriff's station. It had been about two years since time started to matter in Storybrooke, but no one had told the criminals. Ever since Zelena died, things had been quiet. No break-ins, robberies, lost dogs, and not a flying monkey in sight. I should have been happy, but frankly, I was bored. I had actually caught up on all of my paperwork. So, I just sat and waited.

My legs were crossed on top of my desk and my eyes did a continuous rotation between my radio and the clock. It wasn't even two in the afternoon, but there was nothing left for me to do. I looked up from my desk. David was sitting at his desk, his head propped up with one bent arm. He was taking a nap. I couldn't exactly blame him. Baby Neal wasn't much for sleeping. I tried to keep him awake earlier by sending him out to patrol around town and issue traffic tickets. Being Prince Charming, he came back in a few minutes, offering me a muffin and not a single copy of a citation. _Good thing we don't depend on fines for our salaries._ I knew that because in all of my free time, I even sat down and reviewed the department's budget.

I sighed, dropping my legs off of my desk. _I'll let him sleep for now._ I was about to reach into my desk to see if I could find a notebook to doodle in when my cell phone rang from my pocket. Everyone I knew had a different ringtone, so when I heard 'I Put a Spell on You' I answered without hesitation.

I watched my father's head hit the desk with a resounding thud as my phone startled him awake. "Madame Mayor. What can I do for you?"

"Sheriff. I have … a favor to ask." Now, when I first met Regina a few years ago, one of the first things I had noticed was her voice. It was always one part commanding and one part seductive; classic Evil Queen. So, when the former monarch had spoken in a soft voice and _asked_ me for something instead of demanding it, I knew something wasn't right. I shifted forward in my chair.

"Regina, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Miss Swan. I simply wanted to ask if you would pick Henry up from school and take him to visit Sn- … your mother for the evening."

Something was definitely wrong. There is no way this side of Neverland that Regina Mills was asking for a babysitter on this short of notice and especially not that particular babysitter. "Okay, okay, stop right there. You actually want our son to hang out with Snow White? You know, his grandmother, who you think is a terrible influence? Are you feverish?" _You may not be mortal enemies anymore, but still…_

I heard her scoff and clear her throat. "Zelena was far more terrible than your mother could ever be. Or have you already forgotten?"

The Wicked Witch had a pretty long rap sheet: manipulating the entire town, kidnapping Rumplestiltskin, attacking citizens, trying to kidnap my newborn brother, causing Neal's death. No, I definitely didn't forget, and Regina was well aware of that. "… Any particular reason why you want Henry out of the mansion?" It was the only reasonable explanation.

"I didn't ask to be interrogated, Sheriff. I asked for a favor." _The commanding tone is coming back._

"Fine, Regina. Yes. I'll pick up the kid. Do you want him back before bedtime?"

"Of course." I could hear shuffling in the background. "And make sure he-"

I stood and grabbed my leather jacket from the back of my chair. "Does his homework. Got it."

"Yes." The mayor almost sounded surprised. I may not have been the most responsible parent at times, but I did want the kid to succeed. And I really didn't want a lecture from the prior Evil Queen. "Thank you."

Regina never really thanked me for anything. Not recently, at least, and never for anything short of saving the entire town. "You're welc-" The line disconnected before I could finish. "Wow. That was weird." I slipped my jacket on and grabbed my keys.

I shook my hair out and clipped my radio to my belt, just in case. David quickly stood and watched me as I left my office. "You okay, Emma?" I'd never get used to someone looking at me with genuine concern. I'd never get used to being asked if I was okay, either. So I did what I always did and ignored the question.

I waved him off. "Something's up with Regina. Can you hold down the fort? I've got to pick up Henry."

"It's not much to hold down, but yes;" Charming chuckled, leaning against his desk.

"Thanks Dav- dad. Thanks dad." I tried not to sound awkward. I failed. But my father either didn't notice or didn't care, because here I was getting wrapped up in a hug. My body stiffened immediately and my heart sank. I felt guilty for flinching whenever I was touched. I was probably far too old to outgrow the habit now.

Instead of pulling away when my body betrayed me, David only held me even tighter before releasing me again. "Anytime, sweetheart."

I nodded and quickly left the station.

Henry was more than a little surprised when he saw me waiting for him outside the school. I was leaning against my bug, you know, trying to pull off the 'cool mom' look. Not that my son cared. I was the freaking savior as far as he was concerned. It was the rest of the town I had to impress.

"Emma!" Henry bolted once he saw me. He slammed into me with a hug so strong I thought I'd crack a rib. It had been a few days. After Neverland, Regina and I had made an arrangement. Our son stayed with the mayor on weeknights and usually stayed with me at the Charmings' on weekends. But the lost boys invited a bunch of the local kids to a huge sleepover, so Henry had spent Saturday night at Archie's. Really, it had only been five days since we'd seen each other… but hey, the kid was happy to see me, so I was happy. _He's the only middle school boy I know that will still hug his moms in public._

"Hey kiddo. How was school?" My son shrugged as he released me.

"Nothing exciting. How was work? And where is mom? It's Thursday." He tilted his head to me.

I scratched the back of my head. "I'll be honest, my day was completely boring until your mom called me. She wants you to spend the evening with Snow and then I'll bring you home by bedtime."

Henry looked just as surprised as I was. He blinked confusedly. "On a school night? Did she say why?"

"Nope. I was hoping you had a clue." I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, pulling my son against my side and ruffling his hair for good measure. "Was she weird at all this morning? Did she mention anything?"

He shook his head and leaned against the bug next to me. "No… But… I did see her phone ringing while she was making my eggs. It was Robin Hood." I could tell that Henry felt awkward talking about it. He liked Robin and he didn't seem to mind his relationship with Regina, but I guess it would be weird talking to your mom about who your other mom is sleeping with. "She saw it ringing too, but she didn't answer. When it stopped, it showed she had 6 missed calls."

 _Marian's back. It looks like they're finally going to have to talk about what that means. Shit._ "That's... I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." I lied through my teeth to my son. Henry just stepped forward and ran a hand through his hair.

"I hope so. Anyway. We should go to grandma's now. I have a lot of homework and I want to finish it so that we can hang out today." He shook his heavy backpack for emphasis.

I smiled at him and grabbed my keys from my pocket. "Sure thing, kid. Hop in."

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 **Author's Note:**

This is my first OUAT fic. I'm still ironing out some of the details and some of the characters. If you've read Everybody Loves College, you'll probably see a few similarities, but I'm hoping not too many. I don't beta, so consider yourself warned. Anyway, on with the SwanQueen!


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